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Hurricane Ida Approaches; "Take the Baton"; Killing Rampage at Fort Hood; Wounded at Fort Hood; Berlin Wall's Fall 20 Years Later

Aired November 09, 2009 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning, guys. Thanks so much. Here's what we're working on today in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Late-season storm. Hurricane Ida bears down on the Gulf Coast. We are tracking it on our Severe Weather Center. We will certainly get the latest to you.

Plus, a victory for President Obama and House Democrats. Health care reform shifts to the Senate after the House passes its bill.

Plus, 20 years after the Berlin Wall fell. Events of the anniversary are under way already this hour. And we ask what you remember of that symbol of communism's collapse. Live pictures for you there.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins in New York and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

ANNOUNCER: Stay with CNN. Your hurricane headquarters.

COLLINS: It is going to be a tense day along the Gulf Coast, where Hurricane Ida could make landfall as early as tomorrow morning. Warnings are now posted from Mississippi to Florida. The storm's heavy rains and flooding left thousands of people homeless in Nicaragua and in nearby El Salvador, at least 125 people died.

So, what is in store for the Gulf Coast?

CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is joining us now from the hurricane headquarters to let everybody know.

Good morning to you, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Heidi, the latest we have on these storms is the little -- I'd say the very minimum they can expect along parts of the Gulf Coast, especially in Alabama and Florida, will be enhanced surf anywhere from, say, 3 to 6 above normal -- feet above normal, anywhere from, say, 3 or 6 inches of rainfall and some strong winds.

Although I got to tell you this storm really has been weakening. Even over the last 30 minutes or so, we're seeing a lot of dry air begin to intrude in parts of the southeast quadrant of the storm. The bulk of the moisture still to the northern part of the storm. The center of circulation still right about here. So, the storm not well formed at all and it's running into a couple of issues. One issue, strong upper level winds, which we refer to as sheer. The other item is cooler water temperatures. Water temperatures not in the 80s, but rather in the 70s. So, that warm water is a primary power source for these tropical systems and with the cooler water, it's begin to weaken just a little bit.

Now the mileage, about 329 miles from Pensacola. The winds are at 80, gusting to 115 miles an hour. And the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center shows the storm is still expected to march a bit more to the north. And as we get to early morning on Tuesday, should be right near the Florida/Alabama line. A place that we refer to you often as (INAUDIBLE) and then veering off towards Pensacola, right along the I-10 corridor, where it's going to become a heavy rainmaker.

Very quickly, let me show you the watches and warnings we're seeing popping up across the screen. You'll see some bright greens, also some darker greens that extend from parts of the panhandle clear up to parts of Atlanta, even up into the Carolinas and the Tennessee valley.

This area, you've got a good chance of dealing with some heavy rainfall. Some places, up to 3 to 6 inches of rainfall. Places with higher elevations, especially the Appalachians, you could see more. We're talking about a potential flooding situation for places, including Atlanta.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: All right. Reynolds, we know you're watching that closely. Thanks.

WOLF: You bet.

COLLINS: We'll check in a little bit later on.

The ball's in the Senate's court now. The health care reform focus turns to the Senate after the House narrowly passed its version. That vote came late Saturday night as the Democrats counted down the final seconds in the voting period.

The final vote was 220 to 215 with 39 Democrats opposed and one Republican in favor. Looking at some of the highlights of the House bill now. Insurance companies cannot deny coverage to anyone with a pre-existing condition.

The bill includes subsidies to help poor and middle-class Americans buy insurance. The bill creates health insurance exchanges to make it easier for individuals and small groups to purchase some type of coverage.

The measure is financed through a combination of tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and spending constraints in Medicare and Medicaid. Party leaders squared off over the bill's significance on ABC's "This Week." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM KAINE, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: But there's no denying that this was a historic passage last night on an issue that President Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, started 100 years ago that now is moving forward in all the committees and now with the House vote of historic importance.

MICHAEL STEELE, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Look, you know, Teddy Roosevelt probably didn't have this in mind. And certainly, this would have been one of those things he would have hunted on the big range and shot dead.

KAINE: Teddy wouldn't have wanted insurance companies to be running...

(CROSSTALK)

STEELE: The reality of it is, we don't want the government running things, either. And so -- and that's what this amounts to. You've got to deliver something and what you delivered is a 2,000 pound baby that nobody wants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: President Obama hailing the House vote on health care reform as historic. He's now calling on the Senate to complete the reform job. But the president may no longer be demanding a timetable for a bill to reach his desk.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is watching that part of the story. He joining us from the White House now this morning.

Suzanne, why exactly is the president softening this deadline?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, really it's a delicate balancing act that the president has. On the one hand, he has to push Congress, push them hard. He's been doing that, essentially, for the last six months or so to get this thing passed, but on the other hand, he doesn't want to put lawmakers in a box.

He doesn't want this to backfire. So, he is really trying to give them a little bit of space here, a little bit of room. This process has to play out and it is far from finished, the health care reform bill, what it's going to look like in the end.

We've heard from the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, who says this debate has to play itself out. It may not actually be signed until early next year, perhaps, and there still is that debate that's taking place over the so-called public option. The government pursuing its own plan, a health insurance alternative plan to private companies.

That is something that some moderates Democrats are quite uncomfortable with on the Senate side. They've got to work that out to figure out what the final version of this bill is going to look like. So, Heidi, this is the tone that the president is setting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Moments like this are why they sent us here, to finally meet the challenges that Washington has put off for decades. To make their lives better and this nation stronger. To move America forward.

That's what the House did last night when it brought us closer than we have ever been to comprehensive health insurance reform in America. Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people. And I'm absolutely confident that they will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Heidi, obviously, you know there's a process that plays out in getting that actually to the president's desk in a form that he can sign. The president himself also very, very busy, has a lot on his plate. The next couple of weeks, that decision on U.S. troops to Afghanistan as well as readying for a 10-day trip to Asia that is going to take place this week -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, tracking all of it for us, sure do appreciate it, Suzanne, thanks.

In fact, the president talked about passing the health care baton to the Senate, but what happens exactly after that handoff? The Senate must, of course, pass its own version. If that happens, a committee would be formed to work out a compromise version of the Senate and House bill.

Then the compromise would require final approval from both the Senate and the House. And finally, if all that gets the green light, it heads to the president's desk for his signature.

Now to some new developments in last week's deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas. Congress may open hearings into Thursday's attack that killed 13 people and wounded another 29.

Senator Joe Lieberman wants to know if the Army ignored ominous signs of Islamic extremism by the accused gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Meanwhile, 16 victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Seven are now in intensive care.

Hasan is in critical but stable condition and breathing on his own. Authorities won't say when charges will be filed and say they have not determined a motive.

Want to get the very latest now on the investigation. CNN's David Mattingly is joining us from Fort Hood where tomorrow's memorial service will be held.

So, David, good morning to you. There is some insight about what happened during this Thursday's shootings now, right? DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi. We're hearing from a young soldier this morning who was actually wounded when that shooting took place here on the post on Thursday. He tells us that as the shooter stood up and started shooting that he yelled, "Allahu Akbar," which is Arabic for "God is great."

This is the first time we've heard this directly from someone who was there at the scene. The Army, however, has not confirmed that for us yet. This comes at a time when Army leadership has been very vocal about their concerns that this incident, the anger from it, might somehow lead to some sort of backlash against its Muslim soldiers.

They've been very careful to say they haven't determined a motive as this investigation continues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): The intense investigation into the deadly Fort Hood shooting spree remains largely shrouded in silence. But it's clear. This is a tragedy that hits too close to home.

COL. JOHN ROSSI, FORT HOOD SPOKESMAN: The troubling part of it is it happened here in our own house. And that's the piece that most are troubled with right now, is the location of where it happened and how could that happen.

MATTINGLY: The prime suspect, Major Nidal Hasan, removed from his ventilator, is breathing on his own and in critical condition. Outside Fort Hood, the FBI is seeking out Hasan's friends and fellow Muslims.

SAYED AHMED ALI, IMAM: On Wednesday night, there was a party dinner. I think six, seven people are invited. In that party, Nidal also there. So he asked me who -- can you give me the names? So I give the names to the FBI.

MATTINGLY: (INAUDIBLE), a co-founder of the mosque where Hasan prayed, tells the Associated Press that the Army psychiatrist was deeply conflicted for months about his duty to the Army and fighting against Muslims.

(INAUDIBLE) says he told Hasan, "There's something wrong with you." But did Hasan, a doctor working with posttraumatic stress patients, ever seek help from the Army? Questions continue to mount about any warning signs that may have been missed.

JOHN KING, HOST, CNN'S STATE OF THE UNION: Is there any record that he actually requested to be let go?

GEORGE CASEY, FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL, IRAQ: John, again, I can't get into anything dealing with the motivations of the suspect. And that will all come out in the course of the investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: The business of the day continuing with the grieving process from this tragedy. This construction you see behind me was assembled over the weekend in preparation for the memorial services tomorrow -- Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes. Those are going to be awfully tough, I'm sure, David. What do you know, at this point, about Major Hasan's condition? I think that we have heard and just reported here he's critical but stable, correct?

MATTINGLY: That's correct. Critical but stable condition. There's been one newspaper report this morning that he is actually conscious and talking. The Army will not confirm that nor will it confirm that they've actually had a chance to question him yet.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's David Mattingly, give us an update there from Fort Hood. Thank you, David.

The wounded, the gunman, and after the shooting, now what? Find out more about the investigation at Fort Hood when we talk with an Army spokesman coming up in just a few minutes.

And the fall of the wall. It has been 20 years since the Berlin Wall fell. You are looking at some live pictures going on right now. Some of the ceremonies this morning. There's already been a prayer service that we are aware of.

Germany is celebrating this pivotal moment in history. And in fact, just a few moments ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel leading a symbolic walk across the Bernauer Bridge marking the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. Lots and lots of people there today as you can see. Lots of dignitaries as well.

We're going to have a live report coming up in just a few minutes. Stick around, everybody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: On the mend after the Fort Hood massacre, Staff Sergeant Alvin Howard took a bullet in the shoulder and he is recovering this morning. He has a wife, two young daughters. As you might imagine, it is a very stressful time for them. But Kaneesha Howard says they're holding up with the help from the community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KANEESHA HOWARD, WIFE OF SHOOTING VICTIM: Everyone has been very helpful and I just want to say thank you all and my prayers go out to the families that have lost...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Sergeant Howard was set to deploy to Afghanistan in January after having already served in Iraq.

Many of those wounded in the Fort Hood shooting spree are in the hospital still this morning. Some of them are in intensive care. And joining us with an update on that is Fort Hood spokesman, Colonel John Rossi.

Colonel Rossi, thanks so much for being with us. You know we just saw a little bit of a video of the one of the shootings victim's family. And her voice still trembling, people still going through an awful lot at Fort Hood.

Can you give us an idea of how everyone seems to be doing today?

ROSSI: Sure, Heidi. The Fort Hood family is moving forward. It's an extremely challenging time, as you can imagine. We're totally focused on the care and the well-being of, obviously, our wounded and their families and those that are affected in other ways by this.

The children in the community, the local community. We're working hard to allow us to grieve, and at the same time, tradition into the healing process. And as you know, Fort Hood continues with its mission that it has to the nation. So we're working through this and we're confident that we're going to come out of this strong.

COLLINS: Yes, you know, people just may not understand if they don't know much about the Army community or the military community as a whole, how that works and what the community is all about and what type of support is offered to these families who have gone through this.

Can you talk about that little bit? I know that there's been a lot of mental health counseling as well, but truly about the family of the Army.

ROSSI: That's great. And the Army puts so much on that word, "family," because it means so much to us. And the family covenant that we initiated a few years ago is so critical to us. It's our commitment to our families of providing them the care and services commensurate with the service that we would expect of our soldiers that are out in the field.

And we put a lot of effort, obviously, into the behavioral health aspect of caring for our soldiers and apply all resources to it. And that includes to the families. For example, today, we have experts we've brought in to go out and deal with the children in the schools to help them work through the potential adverse effects of this incident as it may be applied to the children.

COLLINS: Sure.

ROSSI: They might see this in different ways and we're working to help there. So it's important that we're putting a lot of time and all resources to bare have been brought here and given to us by our leadership to help us work through this.

COLLINS: Terrific. I know that a big part of this is going to have to be, at least, a little bit of closure in moving towards this memorial tomorrow. What are some of the plans? ROSSI: We're working, obviously, right now, very hard on making this the right event for tomorrow and there's a lot of moving pieces. The term "closure" is -- you know, that comes in different ways to different people.

Some might get it by the ceremony, others the completion of an investigation and a little further out. But it's certainly important in the healing process that this is done right and it will be done right.

Obviously, we have two very special groups of people coming in tomorrow. One being the -- obviously, the president...

COLLINS: Yes.

ROSSI: ... and the senior leaders of the nation coming to us. And the other special of group of people that are going to be coming to us are the families of those that were killed and those that were wounded. And we want to make sure that this is a memorable event and done with the dignity and respect that it needs to be.

COLLINS: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Colonel John Rossi, we certainly appreciate your time. You guys have done an incredible job there and we're certainly thinking of the Army and those who have gone through this. Tough, tough time.

Thanks so much, Colonel.

We do have a developing story to get to you now coming out of Iran, in fact. A prosecutor in Tehran says espionage charges will be filed against the three Americans who strayed into the country.

Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal say they were hiking in Iraq and unknowingly crossed into Iran. They were arrested back on July 31st. The U.S. government has repeatedly demanded their freedom.

We're going to have more on this coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a couple of minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Top stories now. Later today, President Obama meets with the Israeli's prime minister at the White House. Benjamin Netanyahu has steadfastly rejected the administration's calls to halt Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Instead, he's agreed to limit construction.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton angered Palestinians last week when she described the Israeli pledge as unprecedented.

In Philadelphia, the city's transit system back up and running this morning. The city's subways, buses, and trolleys have been idled for six days after 5,000 workers walked off the job.

You may remember, the union had threatened to strike while the World Series was in town, but then waited until the baseball season ended.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrates the fall of the Berlin Wall earlier today on this 20th anniversary. She met with German chancellor Angela Merkel and offered her congratulations to the German people.

The collapse of the wall is seen as a pivotal moment, of course, in ending the Cold War. Clinton said victory should serve as a call to action to confront challenges facing freedom today.

We're going to take you there live, actually, right now. Live pictures, I believe, right now. You see the German chancellor there, Angela Merkel. We'll continue to watch these pictures throughout the morning on this 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

We're back in a moment here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It was a pivotal moment in history and the fall of the Berlin Wall setting in motion the collapse of communism in Europe. Well, today marks the 20th anniversary of that fall and Germany is celebrating.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is joining us now live from Berlin to talk a little bit more about this historic moment and the historic moment, of course, 20 years ago.

So, Frederik, tell us exactly where you are.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, I'm actually right next to the Berlin Wall. This is it, this is the real thing. This is one of the few places here in Berlin where the Berlin Wall still stands. It's known as the east side gallery.

It's one of the places where a lot of artists went and painted symbols. The one that you see right behind me is actually a painting of what the artist saw when the first East Germans crossed the border into the West.

And you're absolutely right, Heidi. This is a day -- a very important celebration to Berliners, to Germans, but really to people from all across Europe and the world. There's a lot of heads of state, heads of government, coming in here to Germany to celebrate this moment.

As you mentioned before, Secretary Clinton is also here. She had some talks with German chancellor, Angela Merkel, earlier this morning. And tonight, there are going to be major celebrations around the Brandenburg Gate, which is of course the major symbol of German unity and one of the places where the Berlin Wall used to stand -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. And Frederik, if you can, talk a little bit more about that, the ceremonial wall crossing, Bornholmer, I understand, that's going on right now with the chancellor? PLEITGEN: Yes. At Bornholmer Strasse, there are celebrations going on right now. There's a commemoration going as well. Angela Merkel just walked across that place with Mikhail Gorbachev, the former leader of the Soviet Union.

What you have to know about that place is that this used to be one of the busiest border crossings between east and west here in the city and it was also the first border crossing that was opened on the night of November 1989.

And what happened was, that the East German government announced that it would ease travel restrictions on its citizens, meaning that, for the first time, they could travel to the West at all and then thousands of East Germans really converged on that border crossing and forced the border guards...

COLLINS: Yes.

PLEITGEN: ... to open that border crossing. And the really interesting thing about it, Heidi, is the border guards had no orders to let them through. They did it on their own -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Wow. Yes, just incredible history there. Frederik, I also love what they're doing today with the dominos. Tell us a little bit more about that.

PLEITGEN: Well, yes. That's one of the main, really, features of the celebrations tonight. What's going to be happening is that a little bit later today, almost 1,000 giant dominos, there are about -- I would say they are about 8 or 9 feet high, are going to be toppled around the Brandenburg Gate.

It's several miles long and it's there to reenact the fall of the Berlin Wall and really the fall of communism all around Europe. And the interesting thing about these dominos is that each on them was uniquely painted by schools, by artists, and some of those were painted by people from countries where walls and borders still divide people.

There's some from Cypress, there's some from Korea as well. So certainly, this is something that is supposed to symbolize the end of communism here in Europe and of course, German unity.

And I can say one thing that I've heard from so many people the past days and also from leaders here in Germany, they say they are very thankful to America and they always say that it was always America and especially the American government under George H.W. Bush at the time that supported them like no other around the world -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, very good. We'll keep our eye on those celebrations. Frederik Pleitgen, thanks so much.

And also this morning, we are asking, where were you when the Berlin Wall came down? What were your impressions? Do you remember? Go to our blog at CNN.com/heidi and let us know what you think. What your memories are. We're going to read some of those comments, of course, coming up in our next hour.

Your home, it may be the single biggest investment you have. So is it worth more or less these days? We're going to break down the numbers coming up in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: On Wall Street, the Dow gained more than 300 points last week. That was pretty cool, snapping a two-week losing streak.

For a look at what's in store for this week and today, let's get over to Susan Lisovicz back in the New York Stock Exchange. Susan Lisovicz in the house.

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: Good morning.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUISNESS CORRESPONDENT: You're across town. How is that? That we are both in New York and we're not together on the same set?

In any case, Heidi, I've got good news for you.

COLLINS: That's great.

LISOVICZ: We're gearing up for a sharply higher open following a rally overseas. Officials from G-20 countries agreed this weekend to keep stimulus measures in place in an effort to keep the global recovery on track. That is sparking some rallies, but sending the dollar down. One Euro now goes for more than a $1.50.

In corporate news, well, it could have been a sweet deal, not so much. Kraft making a hostile bid for Cadbury by taking it directly to the shareholders. Kraft, which, of course, makes Oreo cookies and Nabisco offering more than $16 billion for the British candy maker. Cadbury promptly rejected the offer. Kraft's offer is actually less than its original bid in September. A Cadbury spokesman is quoted as saying, "While Kraft might need Cadbury, Cadbury certainly does not need Kraft."

Did you like the British accent there, Heidi?

COLLINS: That's absolutely fantastic. So real.

LISOVICZ: All right. General Electric is moving closer to a deal to sell NBC Universal. G&E and Comcast reportedly agreeing on evaluation about $30 billion. The two companies have been in talks to give Comcast a more than 50 percent stake in NBC Universal. Pricing, of course, a key issue. Pricing on the markets, higher.

The three major averages, at least half a percent higher in the first minute of trading.

Heidi, see you later.

COLLINS: All right, very good. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

Well, you've probably heard experts say this a lot. The nation's economy cannot rebound until the housing industry gets healthy again. Today, there are signs that the housing crisis may be easing a bit more.

And let's take a closer look now with Christine Romans of the CNN money team.

Christine, good morning to you.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

COLLINS: So we like whenever we can get a glimmer of hope out of the housing sector. What are we looking at?

ROMANS: Well, this is under water mortgages. I mean, you remember this phrase? Under water? It means you owe more on the home than the home is worth. And few of you are under water in your loans. About 21 percent of you owe more on the home than the home is worth. But that's an improvement. So it was about 23 percent, the same period a year ago.

So let's talk a little bit about where you're seeing the worst parts of the situation and the best parts of the situation. Year over year, home sales down 6.9 percent according to Zilo, their analysis. These are the same worse parts. The same horrible, horrible parts that we talk about. Stockton, California, Merced, California.

In Merced, for example, two years ago, the average home was $300,000. Think of that. $344,000. Today it's worth $96,000.

COLLINS: Unbelievable.

ROMANS: Las Vegas, El Centro, California, Fort Myers. But this is not news. You know about these areas. But look at where housing is stabilizing, and in fact where home prices are going up. Fayetteville, North Carolina, home prices up 10.8 percent. Cumberland, Maryland, up nine percent. Gainesville, Georgia up seven percent. Rochester, New York up six percent. Green Bay, Wisconsin up 5 percent.

So we are seeing some pockets of stabilization in the housing market. Some of those tough parts of the country continue to be very tough, but fewer people are under water in their loans. And there could be a couple of reasons for that. A couple of reasons, Heidi, one of them could be people are losing their homes. You're not under water on a loan you don't have anymore. But also those areas of stabilization might be helping people out a little bit.

COLLINS: Yes. And the term, it just makes me think of Spongebob, but really it's a very...

(CROSSTALK) ROMANS: It's true.

COLLINS: ...it's a serious --

ROMANS: And even five or six years, a lot of people didn't know what that meant to be under water on a loan. Now, we all know what it means. One in five mortgages is under water. I mean, you owe more than the home is worth and may ever be worth for the next few years at least.

COLLINS: Yes, no question.

We also had these really rotten unemployment numbers.

ROMANS: Yes.

COLLINS: The highest in --

ROMANS: Since'83.

COLLINS: '83. That's right. But now the housing numbers seem a bit positive. So what do people make of these sort of conflicting reports?

ROMANS: This, Heidi, I think is the new normal. This is the way it's going to be. We're going to see -- for example, the president, within eight days, the president and his economic team saw the best economic news of his presidency. The GDP report, which showed growth in the economy, finally. And the worst news of his presidency, which was a 10.2 percent unemployment rate. Now we're looking at these home numbers showing signs of life and stabilization.

Heidi, I think this is the new normal. We're going to hear catastrophic economic news followed by, hey, wait, but things are doing well here. This is the way it's going to be for a period of time. You're not going to see that jobless rate start to come down. And this is what the Treasury secretary said this weekend. You're not going to see it come down until you have a period of sustained economic growth.

COLLINS: Sure.

ROMANS: That could be months. That could be years.

COLLINS: I mean, it makes sense.

So you're back to this whole cautious optimism thing.

ROMANS: That's right. And it's going to be choppy. You'll hear economist say, it's going to be a choppy recovery. It will be choppy, and it's going to feel really hard to a lot of people. We're going to keep seeing these numbers that may on the surface seem different than the numbers we saw a week ago.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, I'm glad you're here to explain all of it for me. All right. Christine Romans, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Living history. A World War II vet take us on a tour of one of the few remaining battleships from the Second World War. Hear his story coming up in our Veterans in Focus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Storm warnings blanket the Gulf Coast this morning as Hurricane Ida closes in for landfall as early as tomorrow morning.

Want to get the very latest now from CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf joining us from the hurricane headquarters.

So, Reynolds, I keep on reading that it's losing strength, but I know how quickly things like this can change.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, that's for sure.

All right, Reynolds, let us know if we need to come back to you. Appreciate it.

WOLF: You bet.

COLLINS: Living history. A World War II vet takes us on a tour of one of the few remaining battleships from the Second World War. Stick around for his story in our Veterans in Focus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Let's check our top stories now. At least 124 people are dead and dozens are missing in mudslides and floods in El Salvador. Heavy rains triggered the natural disaster. About 7,000 people have lost their homes. The death toll is also expected to rise as rescue crews reach areas where roads have been completely washed away.

About 500 people marched to the Cleveland house where the remains of 11 people were discovered recently. Mourners carried candles, said scriptures, and sang hymns after leaving a memorial service in a nearby church last night. Police have now identified seven of the ten bodies, and one skull found at Anthony Sowell's home. Sowell, a registered sex offender, faces aggravated murder charges. He's jailed and has been placed on a suicide watch.

At the top of the hour, the U.S. Supreme Court meets to release orders and hear oral arguments. One issue they'll consider, whether it's unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to life in prison with no chance of parole. Opponents say that punishment is cruel and unusual. They say a ruling would affect about 100 inmates now serving those terms.

Both President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki are praising a vote by Iraqi lawmakers allowing national elections to go forward.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is joining us now live from Baghdad with more on this.

So Mohammed, good morning to you. How worried were U.S. officials that this actually would not pass?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. officials were extremely worried this wasn't going to pass. In the past few weeks, you've seen time after time after time this thing kept getting delayed. Iraq's parliament wasn't voting on it. The reason that worried U.S. officials the way it did is because if elections didn't take place in January, that could mean a shift or a modification, or even a delay to the U.S. troop drawdown schedule.

Now nobody was aware of this more than the U.S. ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill. He had been shepherding the process along, going to parliament in the past few weeks trying to help it out.

In an exclusive interview to CNN yesterday, he told us just how worried he was. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS HILL, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAN: Well, you know, whenever you're working on something like that, and you're not really sure if it's going to be successful, you worry. You worry about it until it's actually done. So I got to say, you know, I'm worried about it until I actually saw the votes in the parliament. I realized it was done. But I must say, you know, as someone who's seen a lot of these things over the course of my career, it was kind of nice, kind of gratifying to see this real effort at democratic procedure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JAMJOOM: Now, even today, you're seeing some Iraqi politicians questioning whether this really has all been solved, but the Americans here are breathing a huge sigh of relief. They're very relieved that this has happened.

Heidi?

COLLINS: Is there still a little concern, though, Mohammed, that there could be problems and this may not happen in time?

JAMJOOM: Iraqi political leaders here are saying the concerns now aren't so much political, they're more clerical. That means that really what's left to be done are ballots being printed. Ballots are printed overseas. They need to be brought here. So there is some worry maybe that won't happen in time, by the end of January. But most everybody is saying, this is going to happen. Everything is going to get done. It was just typical Iraqi politics. Everything being done at the last second.

Heidi?

COLLINS: All right, Mohammed Jamjoom coming to us from Baghdad this morning. Thanks so much.

Now to some new developments in last week's deadly shooting at Fort Hood, Texas: Congress may open hearings into Thursday's attack that killed 13 people and wounded another 29. Senator Joe Lieberman is asking if the Army ignored ominous signs of Islamic extremism by the accused gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan.

Meanwhile, 16 victims remain hospitalized with gunshot wounds this morning. Seven of them are in intensive care. And this just in a short time ago, we are told by officials that Hasan is conscious now and talking. Authorities will not say when charges will be filed and say they have not yet determined a motive.

One of the wounded soldiers is speaking out about the shooting rampage at Fort Hood. Private Joseph Foster says, the accused gunman, Major Hasan, shouted something in Arabic before he opened fire.

He talked to CNN's John Roberts earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PFC. JOSEPH FOSTER, WOUNDED SOLDIER: I was sitting in what they call Station 13. It's where we get, basically, our final outs of our RSP (ph) system. And I was sitting in about the second row back when the assailant stood up, screaming -- yelled "Allahu Akbar" in Arabic and he opened fire.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Really, so he did shout "Allahu Akbar." We had heard reports of that, but nothing confirmed. But you were there, that's what you heard?

FOSTER: I believe so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: "Allahu Akbar" is Arabic for "God is Great" and some say it's a terrorist battle cry. Private Foster was shot in the hip. He was preparing for deployment to Afghanistan.

I want to take a moment now to show you some of the names and faces of the 13 victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lt. Col. Juanita L. Warman, 55, of Havre de Grace, Maryland; Major Eduardo Caraveo, 52 of Woodbridge, Virginia; Captain John P. Gaffaney, 54 of San Diego, California; Captain Russell Seager, 41, of Racine, Wisconsin; Chief Warrant Officer, Retired, Michael Cahill, of Cameron, Texas; Staff Sergeant Justin DeCrow, 32, of Plymouth, Indiana.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Last we week told you about the "USS New York." It's the Navy warship whose bow was built with steel from the wreckage of the World Trade Center. Well, over the weekend the Navy made it official the "USS New York" was commissioned and put into service it all happened on the Intrepid Sea, Air, Space Museum right next to the "USS New York."

And watching the ceremony, first responders and families of September 11th victims. The next stop for the ship -- its home port in Norfolk, Virginia.

We turn now to another ship, this one a veteran; it's the battleship "Massachusetts" one of last remaining World War II battleships. In today's "Veterans in Focus" segment we meet a World War II vet who served on the ship then and now.

Photojournalist Bob Crowley takes us aboard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACK CASEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BATTLESHIP COVE: It's so important to have ships like this so people will know what our history was and why we went to war, the sacrifice we made and the lives that were lost. And we're very fortunate to have somebody like Armand Vigeant because he's living history.

ARMAND VIGEANT, USS MASSACHUSETTS VETERAN: It's not easy as it used to be. I'm 87. When I came on board May 12th, 1942, the day they put it in commission. And I got off the ship September 12, 1946, the day it went out of commission. I still maintain the five inch guns a week and use them to fire for ceremonies.

So it takes it here, then you shoot.

When I first got in the Navy, I've only been out of school six months. It was my first time away from home but I soon got used to it.

To get to my battle station for last two years, this was my general direction. I used to stay behind this closed door for hours after hours, any time we were in battle. It's loaded with 5,000 cannons of powder in there.

I felt it was a great ship. And I was proud to serve on it. Very few veterans World War II here, they're all over 80 years old. And not many left. That's one more reason to preserve a ship, so people will remember. It's worth preserving this ship. Yes, it's worth it I think so.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And Armand, we obviously still appreciate your service with dedication.

Now, we also have a lot going on this morning. CNN crews in place to bring you all of the details. I want to check in with our correspondents now beginning with David Mattingly, who's outside Fort Hood this morning. David, good morning.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. The latest on the investigations into the deadly shootings here at Fort Hood, details coming up at the top of the hour.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well Wall Street and Main Street Heidi, all watching the price of gold, but is it going to be a big payday if you try sell your old jewelry or you just going to get ripped off? We took this necklace to the streets of New York to find out for ourselves. We'll tell you what happened in the next hour.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And the latest from the Hurricane Headquarters, Ida has now been downgraded to a tropical storm but still the threat of widespread flooding remains for the southeast. We'll bring you the latest coming up.

COLLINS: Ok, very good guys thanks so much.

Also ahead this morning, getting children vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, not an easy decision for many parents. We're going to talk with several moms in our "Snapshot across America."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Where were you when the wall came down? Twenty years ago in Berlin, an icon of Communist oppression was smashed to pieces. And today people all over the world are sharing their memories in an interactive way on cnn.com.

Our Josh Levs is collecting all those thoughts and here to show us a little bit more -- hey there Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there Heidi. It's so cool. Let's zoom in. I want everyone to see this. Just go to cnn.com today. You're going to see the special section called "Autumn of Change". We bring you to this.

We have our own version, kind of a wall here. What people are doing is they're sending in their memories from all over the world. You just fish around; you click on any one of them. You see some photos along with the stories of when they were taken and people sending messages about what it meant to them to see that wall come tumbling down.

Also here on cnnireport.com, a similar idea; you're getting a lot of similar stories including this one I want to show you here. It says, "Punched to my gut," this is from Cindy Schultz. "To actually stand in the spots where Hitler stood, where the German people were killed just for trying to cross the wall to see relatives and to touch and see in living color what history looks like not just in black and white footage from photos or a movie was overwhelming to me."

We are also getting a lot of videos celebrating what's going on, one special one I want to show you. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(IREPORT BY KIDZ OF HORST)

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEVS: This is a German kids singing group, they're called Kidz of Horst. They put this together there. It's been getting a lot of play in Germany. They sent this to us as an iReport celebrating Reunification; looking back on their own history.

We're putting links for all of these things that off the blog and off of the Facebook and Twitter. In fact, quickly before I have to disappear, let's go to that graphic. I want you to see where you could (INAUDIBLE) yourself; cnn.com/josh, or /Heidi will send you there; also Facebook and Twitter; joshlevscnn. Keep those memories coming in folks, throughout the day. I'll be right here planted (ph) in the newsroom, sharing them and, Heidi, come on you got love that song.

COLLINS: They're adorable. I like the song very much.

All right. We're going to check back a little bit later on. Thank you Josh.

LEVS: Thanks Heidi.

COLLINS: And this morning, we're asking, where were you when the Berlin Wall came down? What were your impressions? Go to our blog at cnn.com/heidi. We're going to read some of those comments coming up in our next hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The yeas are 220, the nays are 215. The bill is passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Democrats cheer the house passage of a health care reform bill, while the president looks to the Senate to close the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people.